In-Situ Cleaning Assembly

ABSTRACT

A cleaning chamber is provided. The cleaning chamber includes a base portion housing a chuck and a lid affixed to the base portion. A support assembly is linked to the lid and the support assembly includes a top plate spaced apart from a bottom plate, the top plate has a plurality of openings defined therethrough and the bottom plate has a plurality of openings defined therethrough. The cleaning chamber includes a plurality of cups extending through corresponding pairs of the plurality of openings of the top plate and the bottom plate. The plurality of cups is configured to seal against a surface of a substrate, wherein each cup of the plurality of cups is independently supported by the bottom plate.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional claiming priority to U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 13/086,327 filed 13 Apr. 2011, which is entirelyincorporated by reference herein for all purposes.

BACKGROUND

Combinatorial processing of substrates performs processing on severalregions of a substrate differently. The areas surrounding these regionsare not processed as the regions are isolated during the processing.More than half of the substrate's surface may be unprocessed. It may bedesirable to take the substrate processed in a combinatorial processingchamber and reinsert it into a conventional processing chamber tocomplete the formation of a structure or device for subsequent testing,screening or characterization. The unprocessed areas may preclude thesubstrate from being reinserted into a conventional substrate processingline, as the mask material, or any other contaminant, on the unprocessedareas remains. The mask material or other contaminants could contaminatea conventional processing chamber unless the material is removed fromthe unprocessed areas of the substrate. The additional processingafforded by reinserting the substrate into a conventional processingchamber may be required before a process from the combinatorialprocessing chamber and the resulting substrate can be characterized.Accordingly, if the substrate could be reinserted into the conventionalprocessing line, the substrate could undergo further processing in orderto evaluate the combinatorial processing.

It is within this context that the current embodiments arise.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the present invention provide a cleaning assembly thatenables cleaning of the unprocessed regions of the substrate in order toenable insertion of the substrate into a semiconductor processing linein order to be able to characterize the substrate and the combinatorialprocessing.

In one aspect of the invention, a cleaning chamber is provided. Thecleaning chamber includes a base portion housing a chuck and a lidaffixed to the base portion. A support assembly is linked to the lid andthe support assembly includes a top plate spaced apart from a bottomplate, the top plate has a plurality of openings defined therethroughand the bottom plate has a plurality of openings defined therethrough.The cleaning chamber includes a plurality of cups extending throughcorresponding pairs of the plurality of openings of the top plate andthe bottom plate. The plurality of cups is configured to seal against asurface of a substrate, wherein each cup of the plurality of cups isindependently supported by the bottom plate.

In another aspect of the invention, a method for cleaning a substratehaving a plurality of regions defined thereon is provided. The methodincludes combinatorially processing the substrate where different siteisolated regions are processed differently. Each of the site isolatedregions is isolated and the substrate is submerged in a cleaning fluidthereby cleaning areas of the substrate external to the site isolatedregions. The cleaning fluid is removed and each of the site isolatedregions is exposed. The substrate is processed in a full wafer cleaningtool.

Other aspects of the invention will become apparent from the followingdetailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, illustrating by way of example the principles of theinvention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will be readily understood by the followingdetailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Likereference numerals designate like structural elements.

FIG. 1A is a simplified schematic diagram illustrating a perspectiveview of a multi module cleaning chamber in accordance with oneembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 1B is a simplified schematic diagram illustrating a perspectiveview of a multi module cleaning chamber of FIG. 1A with the lid in anopen position in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a simplified schematic diagram illustrating a cross-sectionalview of a multi-module cleaning chamber in accordance with oneembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a simplified schematic diagram illustrating a perspective viewof the cleaning chamber with top cleaning module and the bottom cleaningmodule in an open position in accordance with one embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 4 is a simplified schematic diagram illustrating a perspective viewof the bottom cleaning module in accordance with one embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 5A is a simplified schematic diagram illustrating further detailsof the top cleaning module in accordance with one embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 5B is a simplified schematic diagram illustrating the top cleaningmodule of FIG. 5A with the support assembly made transparent in order toillustrate further details of the top cleaning module in accordance withone embodiment of the invention.

FIGS. 6A through 6C are simplified schematic diagram illustratingvarious views of the support assembly in accordance with one embodimentof the invention.

FIGS. 7 and 8 are simplified schematic diagrams illustrating furtherdetails of the cups in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 9 is a simplified schematic diagram illustrating a bottom view ofthe support assembly in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 10 is a simplified schematic diagram illustrating a perspectiveview of a disc in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 11A is a simplified schematic diagram of a substrate that may besupported and processed with the cleaning assembly described herein inaccordance with one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 11B is a simplified schematic diagram illustrating details on theisolation of the regions for the cleaning of the area outside of theregions in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 11C is a simplified schematic diagram of a cross sectional view ofthe site isolated reactor sleeve and the cup that results in theconfiguration of the region of FIG. 11B in accordance with oneembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 11D is a simplified schematic diagram illustrating a crosssectional view of the site isolated reactor sleeve and cup disposed overa corresponding region of the substrate in accordance with oneembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 12 is a simplified schematic diagram illustrating an overview ofthe High-Productivity Combinatorial (HPC) screening process for use inevaluating materials, unit processes, and process sequences for themanufacturing of semiconductor devices in accordance with one embodimentof the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The embodiments described herein provide a method and apparatus forcleaning unprocessed regions of a combinatorially processed substrate(i.e. a substrate that has different isolated regions of the substrateprocessed differently). It will be obvious, however, to one skilled inthe art, that the present invention may be practiced without some or allof these specific details. In other instances, well known processoperations have not been described in detail in order not tounnecessarily obscure the present invention.

The embodiments described herein provide for an in-situ cleaningassembly that isolates combinatorially processed regions whilesupporting the substrate. A substrate is delivered to the in-situcleaning assembly and the processed regions of the substrate areisolated. The cleaning solution has access to all of the unprocessedregions of the substrate, while the cups providing the support of thesubstrate isolates the regions of the substrate that have beencombinatorially processed. As a result, the unprocessed region, whichmay have a mask material or other contaminants disposed thereon, iscleaned so that the entire substrate may be introduced into asemiconductor tool, such as a deposition tool, etch tool, etc.

The embodiments described herein enable the application of combinatorialtechniques to process sequence integration in order to arrive at aglobally optimal sequence of the manufacturing operations by consideringinteraction effects between the unit manufacturing operations, theprocess conditions used to effect such unit manufacturing operations, aswell as materials characteristics of components utilized within the unitmanufacturing operations. Rather than only considering a series of localoptimums, i.e., where the best conditions and materials for eachmanufacturing unit operation is considered in isolation, the embodimentsdescribed below consider interactions effects introduced due to themultitude of processing operations that are performed and the order inwhich such multitude of processing operations are performed whenfabricating a semiconductor device. A global optimum sequence order istherefore derived and as part of this derivation, the unit processes,unit process parameters and materials used in the unit processoperations of the optimum sequence order are also considered.

The embodiments described further below analyze a portion or sub-set ofthe overall process sequence used to manufacture a semiconductor device.Once the subset of the process sequence is identified for analysis,combinatorial process sequence integration testing is performed tooptimize the materials, unit processes and process sequence used tobuild that portion of the device or structure. During the processing ofsome embodiments described herein, structures are formed on theprocessed semiconductor substrate, which are equivalent to thestructures formed during actual production of the semiconductor device.For example, such structures may include, but would not be limited to,trenches, vias, interconnect lines, capping layers, masking layers,diodes, memory elements, gate stacks, transistors, or any other seriesof layers or unit processes that create an intermediate structure foundon semiconductor chips. While the combinatorial processing variescertain materials, unit processes, or process sequences, the compositionor thickness of the layers or structures or the action of the unitprocess, such as cleaning, surface preparation, etch, deposition,planarization, implantation, surface treatment, etc. is substantiallyuniform through each discrete region. Furthermore, while differentmaterials or unit processes may be used for corresponding layers orsteps in the formation of a structure in different regions of thesubstrate during the combinatorial processing, the application of eachlayer or use of a given unit process is substantially consistent oruniform throughout the different regions in which it is intentionallyapplied. Thus, the processing is uniform within a region (inter-regionuniformity) and between regions (intra-region uniformity), as desired.It should be noted that the process can be varied between regions, forexample, where a thickness of a layer is varied or a material may bevaried between the regions, etc., as desired by the design of theexperiment.

The result is a series of regions on the substrate that containstructures or unit process sequences that have been uniformly appliedwithin that region and, as applicable, across different regions. Thisprocess uniformity allows comparison of the properties within and acrossthe different regions such that the variations in test results are dueto the varied parameter (e.g., materials, unit processes, unit processparameters, or process sequences) and not the lack of processuniformity.

FIG. 1A is a simplified schematic diagram illustrating a perspectiveview of a multi module cleaning chamber in accordance with oneembodiment of the invention. Lid 102 is illustrated in a closed positionfor processing in this exemplary embodiment. Cleaning chamber 100includes a top cleaning module disposed over a bottom cleaning module.The top cleaning module includes lid 102 disposed over mid portion 104.It should be appreciated that mid portion 104 functions as a base forthe top cleaning module and a lid for the bottom cleaning module. Base106 encloses a spin rinse dry (SRD) module in one embodiment. The topcleaning module functions as an in situ cleaning assembly in accordancewith one embodiment. Lid 102 is hinged to mid portion 104. Supportassembly 110 is linked to lid 102 and supports substrate 108. Substrate108 is supported by a plurality of cups that isolate site-isolatedregions of substrate 108. In this manner the regions external to thesite-isolated regions of substrate 108 may be cleaned while thesite-isolated regions are protected. Disposed on a top surface of lid102 are manifolds 109 a-c. Manifolds 109 a-c provide either vacuum orpressurized gas to the plurality of cups in order to isolate regions ofthe substrate 108 during processing, as will be described in furtherdetail below. In one embodiment, manifolds 109 b and 109 c providepressurized gas to corresponding cups that are not involved in thevacuum transport of the substrate to and from the end effector, whilemanifold 109 a provides both pressurized gas and vacuum to the cupsinvolved in the transportation of the substrate to and from the endeffector as discussed with reference to FIG. 6C. Tee fitting 109 dprovides a coupling to both of manifolds 109 b and 109 c. The aboveconfiguration is exemplary and not meant to be limiting as alternativegas and vacuum distribution configurations may be incorporated. Hinge114 provides the ability to open and close lid 102, along with thesupport cylinder attached to a side of lid 102 and to a side of midportion 104. Fitting 116 provides the ability to flow fluid or drainfluid from the chamber of the top cleaning module.

FIG. 1B is a simplified schematic diagram illustrating a perspectiveview of a multi module cleaning chamber of FIG. 1A with the lid in anopen position in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. Lid102 in an open position enables an end effector access to the topcleaning module in order to transport substrate 108 to and from the topcleaning module of cleaning chamber 100. The substrate is supported by asubset of the cups through vacuum provided by manifold 109 a as will bedescribed in more detail below and as illustrated in FIG. 6C.

FIG. 2 is a simplified schematic diagram illustrating a cross-sectionalview of a multi-module cleaning chamber in accordance with oneembodiment of the invention. Lid 102 houses or encompasses top and sidesurfaces of support assembly 110 when the lid is in a closed position.Support assembly 110 includes top plate 110 b disposed over bottom plate110 a. Top plate 110 b has a plurality of holes disposed thereon. Cups120 are disposed through the plurality of holes within top plate 110 band a plurality of holes in top plate 110 a that are substantiallyaligned with corresponding holes of the bottom plate. Substrate 108 issupported through cups 120, as will be described in more detail below.When lid 102 is in a closed position a bottom surface of substrate 108will rest against chuck 112. Fitting 116 enables fluid flow to exit fromthe top cleaning module in one embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 2 midportion 104 functions as a bottom portion to the top cleaning module anda top portion of the bottom cleaning module. The bottom cleaning module,which includes base 106, functions as an SRD module in one embodiment.The SRD module includes chuck 118 that supports and spins a substrateduring a cleaning operation. It should be appreciated that the bottomcleaning module may be an SRD unit known in the art in one embodiment.It should be appreciated that the material of construction for supportassembly 110, cups 120, chuck 112, and chuck 118 may be any suitablematerial compatible with the cleaning fluids and operations, such asplastic, e.g., a fluoropolymer in one embodiment. In one embodiment, thechucks, linkages, covers and plates described herein are composed ofEthylene chlorotrifluoroethylene (ECTFE), the tubing is composed ofPerfluoroalkoxy (PFA) PTFE: the basins and lid are composed ofpolytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), and the O-rings are composed of aperfluorinated elastomer (FFKM).

FIG. 3 is a simplified schematic diagram illustrating a perspective viewof the cleaning chamber with top cleaning module and the bottom cleaningmodule in an open position in accordance with one embodiment of theinvention. Lid 102 is in an open position through the support of hinge114 and support cylinder 122 b. In the open position, the top cleaningmodule enables access for a substrate to be delivered so that supportassembly 110 may couple to the substrate. In one embodiment, an endeffector may be used to transport a substrate to and from the cleaningmodule. Mid portion 104 is also opened enabling access to the bottomcleaning module. Hinge 114 and support cylinder 122 a provide thesupport and force necessary for opening or lifting mid portion 104. Inan open position bottom cleaning module enables access for a substrateto be placed on chuck 118. It should be appreciated that one exemplaryoperation may include isolating the combinatorially processed regions ofa substrate in the top cleaning module and cleaning the external areasof the substrate in the top cleaning module. After the cleaningoperation in the top cleaning module the substrate is transported to thebottom cleaning module for a SRD operation.

FIG. 4 is a simplified schematic diagram illustrating a perspective viewof the bottom cleaning module in accordance with one embodiment of theinvention. Base 106 and mid portion 104 of the bottom cleaning moduleare coupled to each other through hinge 114. Within the bottom cleaningmodule, chuck 118 resides in order to support a bottom surface of asubstrate for a cleaning operation, such as a spin rinse and dryoperation. Fluid may be applied through a suitable fluid delivery systemin one embodiment. Drains are provided within base 106 in order to allowfluid to exit.

FIG. 5A is a simplified schematic diagram illustrating further detailsof the top cleaning module in accordance with one embodiment of theinvention. In the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 5A the lid is madetransparent in order to illustrate the details of the top cleaningmodule. Support assembly 110 is attached to the lid through linkages 126a, 126 b 127 a and 127 b. It should be appreciated that linkages 126 aand 126 b provide for a substrate being supported through cups 120 to beinclined at a slight angle relative to the surface of chuck 112 in oneembodiment. Level adjusters 129 are used to correct or adjust the levelof the substrate from the inclined position to a flat position in orderto facilitate the transfer to and from an end effector transporting thesubstrate. Pin 124 enables the removal of support assembly 110 so thatdifferent support assemblies having different configurations may beswitched into and out of the top cleaning module. For example, supportassemblies having different numbers of cups and shapes of cups may besubstituted. Vacuum lines 131 provide a connection from the vacuummanifolds to a top portion of cups 120. As will be illustrated furtherbelow cups 120 include a centrally located channel from a top portion ofthe cups to a bottom surface of the bottom portion of the cups so thatpressurized gas or vacuum may be applied through the cup to isolate theareas of the substrate.

FIG. 5B is a simplified schematic diagram illustrating the top cleaningmodule of FIG. 5A with the support assembly made transparent in order toillustrate further details of the top cleaning module in accordance withone embodiment of the invention. Cups 120 are each supportedindependently through discs 130 disposed within the holes defined withinthe bottom plate. Discs 130 are configured so that cups 120 may deflectin 3 dimensions. However, due to the support of the top portion of cups120 the deflection is limited in a vertical direction. Further detailson discs 130 are provided below.

FIGS. 6A through 6C are simplified schematic diagram illustratingvarious views of the support assembly in accordance with one embodimentof the invention. Support assembly 110 of FIG. 6A includes top plate 110b and bottom plate 110 a. In one embodiment, the coupling of top plate110 b and bottom plate 10 a form a truss to provide rigidity to theoverall structure. Openings 132 are configured to receive the gas/vacuumlines and are connected to a top portion of cups 120. Top plate 110 b isaffixed to bottom plate 110 a through any known means, such as bolts134. In FIG. 6B a bottom view illustrating further details of cups 120is provided. Cups 120 are configured to isolate regions of the substrateso that the external regions outside of the isolated regions, i.e.,outside of cups 120, may be cleaned. As mentioned above, supportassembly 110 may be replaced with relative ease as the support pin 124of FIGS. 5A and 5B running through the extensions of bottom plate 110 amay be removed in order to remove the support assembly. It should benoted that in one embodiment, a square/rectangular opening is providedon the bottom surface of the lower portion of cups 120 to enableinsertion/attachment of the lower portion with the upper body of cups120 without the need for a person to physically touch the lower body ofcups 120. That is, a tool that mates with the rectangular opening can beutilized to insert the lower portion with the upper body in oneembodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 6C, cups 120 may be disposed atdifferent distances from a bottom surface of bottom plate 110 a. Thatis, cups 120-1 may be disposed further below the remaining portion ofcups 120. In this manner, a substrate may be initially supported througha first portion of the cups, i.e., cups 120-1 extending farthest awayfrom the bottom surface of bottom plate 110 a. For example, a substratebeing introduced into the cleaning module may be contacted through thefirst portion of cups 120-1, and vacuum may be pulled through one of thevacuum manifolds in order to provide support of the substrate so thatthe substrate may be removed from the transport mechanism. In oneembodiment, four cups connected to a manifold provide the initialsupport of the substrate. Once the substrate is removed from thetransport mechanism the lid may close and the substrate placed onto thechuck of the top cleaning portion. At this point the remaining portionof cups 120 may be sealed against the corresponding site isolatedregions of the top surface of the substrate in order for the cleaningprocess to be initiated. The remaining portion of the cups is coupled tothe remaining two-manifolds of FIG. 1.

In one embodiment, the assembly “masks” the regions through thefollowing process. An end effector delivers a substrate underneath thesupport assembly of the cleaning module and then is raised so that aportion of the cups contact the surface of the substrate. In oneembodiment, four cups initially contact the surface of the substrate andvacuum is applied through these four cups in order to transport thesubstrate to and from the end effector as discussed with regard to FIG.6C. The vacuum suction against the substrate surface is confirmed for aportion of the four cups, e.g., at least two cups, prior to transportingthe substrate. In one embodiment, a pressure gauge indicating the amountof vacuum within the line supplying vacuum to the four cups indicatesthe amount of cups vacuum sealed with the surface of the substrate. Theend effector is retracted and the lid is closed, which transports thesubstrate to the chuck of the cleaning module where the vacuum to thecups is terminated and vacuum is applied through the chuck to hold thesubstrate. The remaining cups, as well as the four transport cups, arethen caused to contact the surface of the substrate and the isolation ofthe regions on the substrate is achieved by pressurizing the interiorvolume of all of the cups in order to prevent chemicals entering theisolated areas. In one embodiment, a pressure of about two pounds persquare inch is applied to the interior of each cup as the outer edge ofthe cup is against the surface of the substrate. One exemplary inert gasutilized to supply the pressure is nitrogen. Cleaning fluid is thenintroduced into the module and the external areas to the regions arecleaned.

FIGS. 7 and 8 are simplified schematic diagrams illustrating furtherdetails of the cups in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.Cups 120 are configured as having a top portion 120 a and a bottomportion 120 b. It should be appreciated that top portion 120 a may beaffixed to bottom portion 120 b through any known means. Channel 136extends from an opening of the top portion 120 a to a bottom surface ofthe bottom portion 120 b. A gas/vacuum supply line is affixed to theopening of top portion 120 a in order to supply gas/vacuum to channel136. Disc 130 flexibly supports cup 120. As mentioned above, cup 120 isallowed to deflect over a vertical length due to the flexible supportprovided by disc 130 and the guidance supplied by top plate 110 b. Theinternal fitting within channel 136 defined between top portion 120 aand bottom portion 120 b may include a coupling 138 and O-ring 140. Asillustrated in the exemplary embodiments of FIGS. 7 and 8 the bottomsurface of cup 120 is configured so that a peripheral shoulderextension, also referred to as a peripheral circumferential extensionsurrounding a central portion of the bottom surface of the cups, extendsalong the outer surface of cup 120. Edge 139 along the outer peripheryof the bottom surface of the cup seals the site isolated region of asubstrate against which cup 120 is disposed. An inert gas, such asnitrogen is supplied through channel 136 to create the positive pressurewithin the cavity defined over the isolated region of the substrate inorder to prevent any cleaning fluid from entering the cavity. FIG. 9 isa simplified schematic diagram illustrating a bottom view of the supportassembly in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. In theexemplary embodiment of FIG. 9, discs 130 are disposed within aplurality of holes defined within bottom plate 110 a. The cups are notillustrated in FIG. 9 in order to provide a clear illustration of discs130. It should be further appreciated that while the configuration ofthe number of holes in the support assembly provides for the isolationof 28 regions on the substrate, alternative configurations may beutilized. That is, more or less holes may be provided on bottom plate110 a in order to support any configuration of site isolated regions ona substrate. Furthermore, it should be appreciated that the shape of thecups, while illustrated as circular in the exemplary embodiments, is notmeant to be limited to a circular shape. As mentioned above, the supportassembly is easily switched out as removal of pins from opposing sidesenable ease of changeover.

FIG. 10 is a simplified schematic diagram illustrating a perspectiveview of a disc in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. Disc130 includes a central opening through which a body of the cup extends.Disposed along disc 130 are arched openings or arcs 142. Arched openings142 enable the deflection of disc 130 in order for a cup supported bydisc 130 to have movement in 3 dimensions. The flexible support isprovided to each cup independently. One skilled in the art willappreciate that other patterns of openings within disc 130 may providethe flexible support and as such the exemplary embodiments are not meantto be limiting. In one embodiment, disc 130 is composed of a flexiblematerial that is compatible with the cleaning operations and materialsutilized by the cleaning module. In another embodiment, disc 130 enablesdeflections of about +/−5 mm from a rest position for the supportedcups.

FIG. 11A is a simplified schematic diagram of a substrate that may besupported and processed with the cleaning assembly described herein inaccordance with one embodiment of the invention. Substrate 108 includesa plurality of regions 200 that are produced through the site isolatedcombinatorial processing referenced above. It should be appreciated thateach region, or at least one region, may be processed differentlythrough combinatorial processing tools of the assignee. The area outsideof each region 200 is the region processed by the cleaning assemblydescribed herein. That is, the cups of the cleaning assembly isolate themajority of the surface area of regions 200 so that the area outside ofthe regions can be cleaned in order to enable substrate 108 to beintroduced to a semiconductor processing tool for any semiconductorprocessing operation.

FIG. 11B is a simplified schematic diagram illustrating details on theisolation of the regions for the cleaning of the area outside of theregions in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. Region 200of substrate 108 is illustrated having useable processing area 152surrounded by cup edge region 154, double processed region 158 andreactor sleeve edge region 156. It should be appreciated that doubleprocessed region 158 is formed between the edge of the reactor sleeveand the edge of the cup. FIG. 11C is a simplified schematic diagram of across sectional view of the site isolated reactor sleeve and the cupthat results in the configuration of region 200 of FIG. 11B inaccordance with one embodiment of the invention. Edge 139 of cup 120 isillustrated inside of the internal area of reactor sleeve 150. Edge 204of reactor sleeve 150 defines the outer boundary of the double processedregion of FIG. 11B, while edge 139 of cup 120 defines the inner boundaryof the double processed region. It should be appreciated that doubleprocessed region 158 is exposed to the combinatorial processing and thecleaning operation described herein. Edge 139 of cup 120 is a relativelythin lip knife edge at the bottom of the cup in one embodiment. Thus, asa force is applied to edge 139, a seal is formed between the bottomsurface of the edge and the surface of a substrate thereby isolating theregions of the substrate. In addition, the positive pressure applied tothe cavity defined by the cup prevents any cleaning fluid from enteringover the useable processing area 152 of FIG. 11A. It should beappreciated that alternative configurations to the edge embodiment toprovide the sealing surface may be integrated to the bottom of cups 120as the embodiments described herein are exemplary. FIG. 11D is asimplified schematic diagram illustrating a cross sectional view of thesite isolated reactor sleeve and cup disposed over a correspondingregion of the substrate in accordance with one embodiment of theinvention. It should be appreciated that alternative embodiments may beintegrated into the cleaning module. For example, the cups may bereplaced with a non-contact cup that incorporates a Bernoulli chuck. Inaddition, the flexures are optional and the cups may be fixed heightcups.

FIG. 12 is a simplified schematic diagram illustrating an overview ofthe High-Productivity Combinatorial (HPC) screening process for use inevaluating materials, unit processes, and process sequences for themanufacturing of semiconductor devices in accordance with one embodimentof the invention. As illustrated in FIG. 12, primary screeningincorporates and focuses on materials discovery. Here, the materials maybe screened for certain properties in order to select possiblecandidates for a next level of screening. In the initial primaryscreening there may be thousands of candidates which are subsequentlyreduced to hundreds of candidates. These hundreds of candidates can thenbe used or advanced to secondary screening processes which will look atmaterials and unit processes development. In the secondary screeninglevel, process integration may be additionally considered to narrow thecandidates from hundreds of candidates to tens of candidates.Thereafter, tertiary screening further narrows these candidates throughprocess integration and device qualification in order to identify somebest possible optimizations in terms of materials, unit processes andprocess sequence integration.

In one embodiment, the primary and secondary testing may occur on acoupon, while the tertiary testing is performed on a production sizewafer. Through this multi-level screening process, the best possiblecandidates have been identified from many thousands of options. The timerequired to perform this type of screening will vary, however, theefficiencies gained through the HPC methods provide a much fasterdevelopment system than any conventional technique or scheme. Whilethese stages are defined as primary second and tertiary, these arearbitrary labels placed on these steps. Furthermore, primary screeningis not necessarily limited to materials research and can be focused onunit processes or process sequences, but generally involves a simplersubstrate, less steps and quicker testing than the later screeninglevels. With regard to the cleaning assembly described herein, theprimary testing may involve experimentation on a coupon or substratewith multiple with multiple regions on the substrate being processeddifferently. The substrate may be cleaned through the ex-situ cleaningassembly described herein so that the most promising candidates can bedetermined. Thereafter, secondary screening may take the most promisingcandidates from the primary screening and perform further experiments.After the further experiment, the substrate is again cleaned through theex-situ cleaning assembly described herein so that the most promisingcandidates can be further narrowed. This final set of most promising canbe tested through tertiary combinatorial testing techniques cleanedthrough the ex-situ cleaning assembly described herein in order toevaluate the outcome of the tertiary testing.

The stages also may overlap and there may be feedback from the secondaryto the primary, and the tertiary to the secondary and/or the primary tofurther optimize the selection of materials, unit processes and processsequences. In this manner, the secondary screening begins while primaryscreening is still being completed, and/or while additional primaryscreening candidates are generated, and tertiary screening can beginonce a reasonable set of options are identified from the secondaryscreening. Thus, the screening operations can be pipelined in oneembodiment. As a general matter and as discussed elsewhere in moredetail, the level of sophistication of the structures, processsequences, and testing increases with each level of screening.Furthermore, once the set of materials, unit processes and processsequences are identified through tertiary screening, they must beintegrated into the overall manufacturing process and qualified forproduction, which can be viewed as quaternary screening or productionqualification. In one more level of abstraction, a wafer can be pulledfrom the production process, combinatorially processed, and returned tothe production process under tertiary and/or quaternary screening.

In the various screening levels, the process tools may be the same ormay be different. For example, in dry processing the primary screeningtool may be a combinatorial sputtering tool available described, forexample, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,985,356. This tool is efficient at preparingmulti-material samples in regions for simple materials propertiesanalysis. For secondary and/or tertiary screening technique, a modifiedcluster tool may be retrofitted with a combinatorial chamber. As anotherexample, in wet processing, the primary and secondary screening can beimplemented in a combinatorial tool. The main differences here are notthe capabilities of the tools, but the substrates used, the processvariations or structures created and the testing done. For the tertiarytool, a wet reactor with combinatorial and non-combinatorial chambersdescribed in U.S. application Ser. No. 11/647,881 filed Dec. 29, 2006,could be used for integrated and more sophisticated processing andanalysis.

In the development or screening cycle, typically there are manymaterials synthesized or processed involving large permutations of aplurality of materials, a plurality of processes, a plurality ofprocessing conditions, a plurality of material application sequences, aplurality of process integration sequences, and combinations thereof.Testing of these many materials may use a simple test, such as adhesionor resistivity and may involve a blanket wafer (or coupon) or one withbasic test structures to enable testing for one or more desiredproperties of each material or unit process. Once the successfulmaterials or unit processes have been selected, combinatorial techniquesare applied to analyze these materials or processes within a largerpicture. That is, the combinatorial techniques determine whether theselected materials or unit processes meet more stringent requirementsduring second stage testing. The processing and testing during thesecond stage may be more complex, e.g., using a patterned wafer orcoupon, with more test structures, larger regions, more variations, moresophisticated testing, etc. For example, the structure defined by thematerial and unit process sequence can be tested for properties relatedor derived from the structure to be integrated into the commercialproduct.

This iterative process may continue with larger and more complex testcircuits being used for testing different parameters. This approachserves to increase the productivity of the combinatorial screeningprocess by maximizing the effective use of the substrate real estate,and optimizing the corresponding reactor and test circuit design withthe level of sophistication required to answer the level of questionsnecessary per stage of screening. Complex reactors and/or test circuitdesigns are utilized at later stages of screening when desiredproperties of the materials, processing conditions, process sequence,etc. are substantially known and/or have been refined via prior stagesof screening.

The subsections of test structures generated from previous testing forsome screening levels may be incorporated into subsequent, more complexscreening levels in order to further evaluate the effectiveness ofprocess sequence integrations and to provide a check and correlationvehicle to the previous screen. It should be appreciated that thisability allows a developer to see how results of the subsequent processdiffered from the results of the previous process, i.e., take intoaccount process interactions. In one example, materials compatibilitymay be used as a primary test vehicle in primary screening, thenspecific structures incorporating those materials (carried forward fromthe primary screen) are used for the secondary screening. As mentionedherein, the results of the secondary screening may be fed back into theprimary screening also. Then, the number and variety of test structuresis increased in tertiary screening along with the types of testing, forexample, electrical testing may be added or device characterization maybe tested to determine whether certain critical parameters are met. Ofcourse, electrical testing is not reserved for tertiary testing aselectrical testing may be performed at other screening stages. Thecritical parameters generally focus on the requirements necessary tointegrate the structures created from the materials and process sequenceinto the commercial product, e.g., a die.

The above examples are provided for illustrative purposes and not meantto be limiting. The embodiments described herein may be applied to anyprocess sequence to optimize the process sequence, as well as thematerials, processes, and processing conditions utilized in themanufacture of a semiconductor device where there exist multiple optionsfor the materials, processes, processing conditions, and processsequences.

The present invention provides greatly improved methods and apparatusfor the differential processing of regions on a single substrate. It isto be understood that the above description is intended to beillustrative and not restrictive. Many embodiments and variations of theinvention will become apparent to those of skill in the art upon reviewof this disclosure. Merely by way of example a wide variety of processtimes, process temperatures and other process conditions may beutilized, as well as a different ordering of certain processing steps.The scope of the invention should, therefore, be determined not withreference to the above description, but instead should be determinedwith reference to the appended claims along with the full scope ofequivalents to which such claims are entitled.

The explanations and illustrations presented herein are intended toacquaint others skilled in the art with the invention, its principles,and its practical application. Those skilled in the art may adapt andapply the invention in its numerous forms, as may be best suited to therequirements of a particular use. Accordingly, the specific embodimentsof the present invention as set forth are not intended as beingexhaustive or limiting of the invention.

The embodiments described above provide methods and apparatus for theparallel or rapid serial synthesis, processing and analysis of novelmaterials having useful properties identified for semiconductormanufacturing processes. Any materials found to possess usefulproperties can then subsequently be prepared on a larger scale andevaluated in actual processing conditions. These materials can beevaluated along with reaction or processing parameters through themethods described above. In turn, the feedback from the varying of theparameters provides for process optimization. Some reaction parameterswhich can be varied include, but are not limited to, process materialamounts, reactant species, processing temperatures, processing times,processing pressures, processing flow rates, processing powers,processing reagent compositions, the rates at which the reactions arequenched, atmospheres in which the processes are conducted, an order inwhich materials are deposited, etc. In addition, the methods describedabove enable the processing and testing of more than one material, morethan one processing condition, more than one sequence of processingconditions, more than one process sequence integration flow, andcombinations thereof, on a single substrate without the need ofconsuming multiple substrates per material, processing condition,sequence of operations and processes or any of the combinations thereof.This greatly improves the speed as well as reduces the costs associatedwith the discovery and optimization of semiconductor manufacturingoperations.

Moreover, the embodiments described herein are directed towardsdelivering precise amounts of material under precise processingconditions at specific locations of a substrate in order to simulateconventional manufacturing processing operations. As mentioned above,within a region the process conditions are substantially uniform, incontrast to gradient processing techniques which rely on the inherentnon-uniformity of the material deposition. That is, the embodiments,described herein locally perform the processing in a conventionalmanner, e.g., substantially consistent and substantially uniform, whileglobally over the substrate, the materials, processes and processsequences may vary. It should be noted that the discrete steps ofuniform processing is enabled through the HPC systems described herein.

Any of the operations described herein that form part of the inventionare useful machine operations. The invention also relates to a device oran apparatus for performing these operations. The apparatus can bespecially constructed for the required purpose, or the apparatus can bea general-purpose computer selectively activated or configured by acomputer program stored in the computer. In particular, variousgeneral-purpose machines can be used with computer programs written inaccordance with the teachings herein, or it may be more convenient toconstruct a more specialized apparatus to perform the requiredoperations.

Although the foregoing invention has been described in some detail forpurposes of clarity of understanding, it will be apparent that certainchanges and modifications can be practiced within the scope of theappended claims. Accordingly, the present embodiments are to beconsidered as illustrative and not restrictive, and the invention is notto be limited to the details given herein, but may be modified withinthe scope and equivalents of the appended claims. In the claims,elements and/or steps do not imply any particular order of operation,unless explicitly stated in the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for cleaning a substrate having a plurality of regions defined thereon, the method comprising: combinatorially processing the substrate, wherein different regions are processed differently; isolating each of the regions; submerging the substrate in a cleaning fluid, thereby cleaning areas of the substrate external to the regions; exposing each of the regions; and processing the substrate in a full wafer cleaning tool.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the isolating comprises applying pressurized gas to a cup contacting the substrate.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the isolating comprises: applying a vacuum to a cup contacting the substrate; releasing the vacuum applied to the cup; and applying a pressurized gas to the cup.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the applying of the pressurized gas to the cup includes pressurizing the interior volume of the cup to prevent chemicals from entering the isolated region during the submersion of the substrate into the cleaning fluid.
 5. The method of claim 3, wherein an interior volume of the cup is pressurized to two pounds per square inch.
 6. The method of claim 3, wherein an inert gas is utilized to supply the pressure to the cup.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein the inert gas is supplied through a channel of the cup; wherein the channel region is defined over the region; wherein the inert gas creates positive pressure within the cavity; and wherein the positive pressure prevents the cleaning fluid from entering the cavity.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the isolating comprises: contacting a subset of the regions with corresponding support cups; applying a vacuum through the corresponding support cups while a bottom surface of the support cup contacts the substrate; transporting the substrate; and contacting a remaining subset of the site isolated regions with remaining corresponding support cups after releasing the vacuum.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein the contacting of the subset of the regions occurs while the substrate is supported on an end effector.
 10. The method of claim 8, wherein the substrate is transported from an end effector to a substrate support of a cleaning module after applying the vacuum through the corresponding support cups.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein the isolating of the regions comprises coupling a plurality of cups onto the substrate over the site isolated regions using sufficient force to seal a bottom surface of each of the plurality of cups to the surface of the substrate.
 12. The method of claim 1, further comprising drying the substrate after the areas of the substrate external to the regions are cleaned.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein drying the substrate includes spinning the substrate using a rotatable chuck.
 14. The method of claim 1, further comprising setting the disposition of the substrate within the full wafer cleaning tool to a suitable position by adjusting a deflection of at least one cup supporting the substrate.
 15. The method of claim 14, wherein the at least one cup is deflected in a vertical direction.
 16. The method of claim 1, wherein the exposing of the site isolated region comprises removing a cup from the site isolated region.
 17. The method of claim 1, further comprising inserting the substrate into a conventional processing line for further processing.
 18. The method of claim 1, wherein combinatorially processing the substrate includes processing at least 28 site isolated regions differently.
 19. The method of claim 1, wherein combinatorially processing the substrate includes varying at least one of materials, unit processes, or process sequences in the different regions.
 20. The method of claim 1, wherein isolating the site isolated regions comprises utilizing a portion of a plurality of cups to support the substrate as the substrate is removed from a transport mechanism to the full wafer cleaning tool and utilizing a remaining portion of the plurality of cups to isolate the site isolated regions of the substrate after the substrate is placed in the full wafer cleaning tool. 